Sky-cracking Rider

"Oh!"

Upon hearing that Little Bird was fine, Chen Meng immediately put her mind at ease.

The next moment, she looked Chen Fei up and down, puzzled, and said, "Second Brother, why have you come back?"

It wasn't a holiday or anything; surely if it was just to visit because of the college entrance exam, his heartless boss wouldn't dock his pay, right?

"I just went on a long business trip, so I can take a few days off, and I'll go back to work after a week!"

Chen Fei figured that he could just wait for his little sister's college entrance examination scores.

If she crossed the threshold for an undergraduate course, it would naturally be a cause for celebration; if not, they might have to make other plans.

"Won't it be too tiring? Ouch, this cat is too heavy, Brother, you should take it!"

Feeling guilty again upon hearing that Second Brother had been on a long business trip, Chen Meng felt her arms weakening, after all, the big cat weighted a good sixty pounds or so, and it was a bit too much for her to handle for such a while.

"Then just put it down!"

Chen Fei shrugged his shoulders; he didn't want to hold the "big cat" that weighed over sixty pounds either.

"It won't run away, will it?"

Unable to bear the weight any longer, Chen Meng had no choice but to put down the Golden-Eyed Azure-Hearted Civet.

"How could it? It isn't a foolish cat that would disappear the moment you let go!"

Chen Fei winked at the gritting "big cat."

Checking the time, he said, "Let's go home, then. We'll have a good celebration tonight!"

Three days later, the college examination scores started to be released, and Chen Meng's phone was the first to receive her results.

Chinese 122/150, Mathematics 144/150, Physics and Chemistry 139/150, Biology 112/150, Social Studies 128/150, Politics 101/150, Martial Arts 87/100, for a total of seven subjects, giving her a score of 833 out of 1000.

The cut-off scores for admissions were also released, with the line for ordinary undergraduate courses being 720 points, and that for key undergraduate courses, 810 points.

From this point, the life paths of the candidates began to diverge.

The cut-off score for trainees could be reduced by 30 points, meaning that a total score of just 690 would still be enough to gain university admission.

As Chen Meng was a designated trainee for Henghai Tactical Weapons Group, as long as she met the score requirement, the relevant university would automatically admit her, eliminating the need to fill out her choice of preferences.

The university of admission was Northern Industrial University, which itself was a key undergraduate college. The only autonomy Little Sister Chen had was to make her selection within the few specified science departments, choosing which major and which minor.

Of course, those idyllic literature departments were completely out of the question.

Explore stories on empire

The future employer, Henghai Tactical Weapons Group, didn't need keyboard warriors waxing poetic but true warriors who could wield their swords in battle.

"I've finally made it!"

Chen Meng stared at the screen of her phone for a long time before she was willing to look away.

The whole person seemed to suddenly lose all strength and collapsed onto the sofa at home; the next second, she fiercely embraced the Golden-Eyed Azure-Hearted Civet, acting as her pet cat, for a vigorous rub—a sixty-pound cuddle buddy was totally worth it, with completely natural fur.

Her petting skills evolved from "rubbing bird" to "rubbing cat!"

Without a word, Chen Fei pulled a banknote from his wallet and waved it at the big cat.

Erlang Iron, I need you to hang in there a little longer.

The Golden-Eyed Azure-Hearted Civet, which had been starting to get restless, instantly calmed down and went into flat-dead mode, pretending to be out of action!

Dog Chen Xiao Er: Ding! Added 100 Star Yuan!

Erlang: I am impressed by you!

The father, Chen Haishang, and mother, Yu Xiaoyi, who had been anxiously waiting for the youngest's exam results, both breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously.

Father Chen Haishang asked, "Have you thought about which major you want to choose?"

"I want to major in Applied Mathematics and minor in Optics!"

Chen Meng had long thought about her choice; Applied Mathematics and Optics, two fundamental science and engineering subjects, both involve a lot of calculations, and she was best at calculations. It would be a perfect opportunity for her to shine without too much struggle.

Unexpectedly, Chen Fei said, "No, you don't."

"Eh?"

Little Sister Chen looked at her Second Brother, stunned.

What on earth did Chen Fei mean by that?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Xiao Fei, choosing these two subjects is the most suitable for her," Chen Haishang slightly puzzled by Chen Fei's objection.

Chen Fei spoke seriously, "Little sister should major in Artificial Intelligence, minor in Material Physics, with Automation as her third choice."

"Artificial Intelligence? Material Physics? And Automation?" Chen Meng inhaled sharply without meaning to.

Second Brother was setting her up for a high difficulty challenge!

"Trust me, with Second Brother here, you'll have an advantage learning these subjects."

He had just received the "Adam" 2.0 on the domestic front and would surely research this artificial intelligence AI in secret. Although he couldn't say it out loud, Chen Fei still hoped his little sister could take the lead like the industry's big guns, gaining an early advantage.

Little Sister Chen, with a face full of doubt, guessed, "Could it be... Second Brother, have you heard something?"

"As the Buddha says, 'I can neither speak of it nor convey it,'" Chen Fei waved his hand resolutely, refusing to explain.

After all, his commissioned task was covered by a non-disclosure agreement, coupled with a hefty fee for sealing lips and penalties for breach of contract, he definitely couldn't let any information slip.

But for ordinary families, such a head start was an opportunity not to be missed.

Chen Haishang, confused by the half-understood conversation, furrowed his brow and said, "Second Brother, can't you really tell the family?"

"Dad, please give me a break, it's supposed to be a secret!"

Chen Fei raised his hands, pleading for the questions to stop.

"Hey! Old man, if Xiao Fei won't tell, then stop asking."

The mother, being reasonable, could see her second son was in a tough spot; otherwise, he would have spoken up by now.

Chen Haishang frowned deeply, saying in discontent, "This kid, so secretive, we are all family here, what's there that can't be said."

Chen Fei said with a smile, "Xiao Meng, just listen to me, you won't go wrong, I'll help you."

"Alright! I'll listen to Second Brother, major in artificial intelligence, minor in material physics, and if I have the energy, add automation too, yay!"

Chen Meng trusted her second brother Chen Fei unreservedly; after shaking her small fist, she turned around, leaned against the Golden-Eyed Azure-Hearted Civet, pulling on its two ears, and said, "Right? Mimi!"

Erlang (=ＴェＴ=): You're the Mimi, your whole family are Mimis!

Chen Fei noticed the Magical Beast starting to emit a sense of grievance again and quickly said, "Eh, Xiao Meng, its name is Erlang, not Mimi!"

As long as his little sister was happy, he just felt a little pain thinking about his wallet.

"Erlang? You mean like Wu Er Lang, or Erlang Shen? Isn't Mimi a nice name?"

The poor Golden-Eyed Azure-Hearted Civet, having fallen into Little Sister Chen's hands, had become a high-end cuddle toy.

Big Cat wore a look of utter despair, giving up all resistance.

Chen Fei put it simply, "Call it Erlang, and it will respond to you; call it Mimi and see if it pays you any attention."

The Golden-Eyed Azure-Hearted Civet's eyes suddenly shone; it liked this approach – reject anything that didn't meet its satisfaction until the other party adapted to its behavior, known as reverse control. Isn't that how feline masters control their owners? Stupid humans just need to be responsible for opening cans ("Love, Death & Robots" Season 1).

"I don't believe it! Mimi, am I right or what?"

Chen Meng flatly refused to accept such superstition.

However...

Half an hour later, she believed it.

The cat attacked her, pinning her to the ground and leisurely settling on her lower back, immovable as if knitting thread.

Little Sister Chen couldn't break free from beneath the cat that weighed over sixty pounds, almost bursting into tears. Was she really unable to defeat a Giant Orange?

What kind of Netherworld joke was this?

What was even more infuriating was that her Second Brother had been nearby the whole time, showing not the slightest intention of helping, calmly video calling his female boss, along with that Little Bird.

Xiao Jiu was at least lovable, having learned to make phone calls on its own, but Big Cat was not well-behaved at all. Oh, my mother! My poor back! How can this cat be so heavy? It's practically pushing my herniated disc back into place.

Only their mother complained in the kitchen about the cat's enormous appetite; it could devour five pounds of pork and five pounds of chicken breast in one meal, requiring large pots and bowls to manage. If all the meat were replaced with beef, The Chen Family might be bankrupt in just a couple of days.

The cat not only ate a lot but also excreted a lot, nearly blocking the toilet.

The slight relief was that fortunately, the cat wasn't stupid, seeming to understand human speech and knowing to flush the toilet after use, saving them a lot of trouble, unlike that crazy little girl who never even knew to flush, leaving a smell could knock someone over when opening the door.

Considering getting a couple of baskets, their mother planned to take Erlang along when going grocery shopping, having him carry the desired meat and vegetables himself, because carrying twenty or thirty pounds up the stairs was exhausting despite the elevator.

In just a few short days at The Chen Family, the Golden-Eyed Azure-Hearted Civet had transitioned from a wild cat to a cat pillow, a cat backrest, then to a household guardian Big Cat, and finally into a cat laborer. What exactly had it gone through?

Two days after the high school graduation exam results were out, Chen Meng successively received two express mails.

One was an admission notice from Northern Industrial University, which included a flexible circuit board with a display screen capable of playing videos explaining the history of the university, introductions to the elective majors, and check-in notices, fully combining paper media with multimedia, all very sincere.

The other was a visit invitation from Henghai Tactical Weapons Group, inviting this batch of recruits, including trainees, to see what their future employer looked like, as a way to greet each other in advance, hoping to leave a good first impression on both sides.

In addition to trainees, the invitation allowed for one or two family members to attend.

Chen Haishang and his wife Yu Xiaoyi weren't planning to go, suspecting they wouldn't understand all the high-tech stuff anyway, so they left the task to Second Brother Chen Fei, to accompany his sister on this trip.

When they set off, Chen Fei also took the Golden-Eyed Azure-Hearted Civet with him to give their mother, who purchased meat daily, a few days of rest.

Moreover, after carrying vegetables for two days, Erlang felt his reputation was completely ruined, and thought to himself, what use are my Sovereignty and this Jiang Shan to me?

"Why bring that creature along?"

Exiting the train station, Chen Meng, upon seeing the big cat by Chen Fei's feet, felt completely riled up. The cat wasn't even on a leash; at least it could have helped their mother carry groceries at home, its sixty-pound frame should be able to handle a hundred pounds or so without trouble.

But according to the law, only dogs required leashes; cats could roam free; and as for Giant Dragons, one was completely at liberty to try.

Chen Fei pointed to the Seventh Rank Human Order Golden-Eyed Azure-Hearted Civet and said, "Don't you think Erlang makes a qualified bodyguard?"

"Him?"

Chen Meng pursed her lips.

"But you can't even defeat it!"

Chen Fei didn't know from where his little sister summoned her courage; a thousand Little Sister Chens combined still wouldn't be a match for this big cat.

Having a Seventh Rank Magical Beast as a bodyguard was already the highest level of protection for ordinary people.

Little Sister Chen was on the verge of bursting into tears on the spot. This is what real brothers are like, aren't they? Don't kick someone when they are down, okay?

She said fiercely, "Don't talk nonsense." Stop blurting out such bitter truths.

"If you could defeat it, I'd actually start worrying."

Chen Fei spoke very calmly; he never lied.